The invention relates to a tiltable converter with a carrying ring surrounding the converter vessel at a distance and comprising two carrying trunnions which are arranged diametrically opposite each other, the converter vessel being movably connected with the carrying ring by tension-and-pressure-accommodating connecting means.
A number of demands are made on the suspension of a converter vessel in its carrying ring. In the first place, the suspension has to permit deformations of the vessel as well as of the carrying ring. Such deformations, which occur due to the influence of the metallurgical operation and due to the static loads, must not be impeded, since otherwise constraining forces will occur between the converter and the carrying ring. A further demand made on a converter suspension is that no play be present between the converter vessel and the carrying ring which would allow for a relative movement of these two parts, since such a play would cause impacts during tilting of the converter and thus uncontrolled strains of the load-accommodating connecting means of the suspension.
Furthermore, the frictional forces acting against the deformations of the converter and the carrying ring are to be small. Also the load-accommodating elements should be reasonably simple to construct and to dimension, i.e. the calculation of the forces occurring at the suspension is to be feasible with the utmost accuracy.
A converter of the initially-described kind is known from German Auslegeschrift No. 1,946,892, in which, for suspending the converter vessel in the carrying ring, a ball-and-socket joint is arranged in the region of a carrying trunnion, which joint connects the carrying ring directly with the converter vessel. This ball-and socket oint, for accommodating the horizontal forces, coacts with a horizontally arranged tension rod which is provided with ball-and-socket joints at its ends, and for accommodating vertical forces, coacts with perpendicular tension rods. It is true that by this known converter suspension, only a slight resistance is offered against the deformation of the converter. Yet four load-accommodating elements are altogether necessary, which is one load element more than is necessary for a statically defined three-point suspension of the converter vessel in the carrying ring. Moreover, a three-point support is not guaranteed in every position of the converter despite the four load-accommodating elements.